21 most addictive thrillers for autumn 2021
There's no more comforting feeling for a book lover than
curling up with a good thriller when it's dark and stormy outside. From new
releases to old classics, below is a list of the 21 absolute must-read
thrillers for your autumn 2021 TBR.
The Push - Ashley Audrain
"Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm,
comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had.
But in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days,
Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter–she doesn’t
behave like most children do.
Or is it all in Blythe’s head? Her husband, Fox, says she’s
imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to
question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is
telling us about her life as well.
Then their son Sam is born–and with him, Blythe has the
blissful connection she’d always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to
love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an
instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth."
The Push came out last January, and I had to pick it up
immediately after seeing all of the hype. Believe me, I was not at all
disappointed - this book is incredible. You can read my full review here, but you
absolutely have to add this one to your list if you enjoy psychological dramas.
We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
"Eva never really wanted to be a mother - and certainly
not the mother of the unlovable boy who murdered seven of his fellow high
school students, a cafeteria worker, and a much-adored teacher who tried to
befriend him, all two days before his sixteenth birthday. Now, two years later,
it is time for her to come to terms with marriage, career, family, parenthood,
and Kevin's horrific rampage in a series of startlingly direct correspondences
with her estranged husband, Franklin. Uneasy with the sacrifices and social
demotion of motherhood from the start, Eva fears that her alarming dislike for
her own son may be responsible for driving him so nihilistically off the
rails"
I'm recommending this as an add-on to The Push - trust me,
if you read that book, you're going to want more of the 'motherhood gone wrong'
kind of thriller.
The Perfect Nanny - Leila Silmani
"When Myriam, a French-Moroccan lawyer, decides to
return to work after having children, she and her husband look for the perfect
nanny for their two young children. They never dreamed they would find Louise:
a quiet, polite, devoted woman who sings to the children, cleans the family's
chic apartment in Paris's upscale tenth arrondissement, stays late without
complaint, and hosts enviable kiddie parties. But as the couple and the nanny
become more dependent on one another, jealousy, resentment, and suspicions
mount, shattering the idyllic tableau."
This time, a 'nanny gone wrong' rather than a 'motherhood
gone wrong' story, beginning with the
murder of two children. Terrifying,
claustrophobic and engaging, The Perfect Nanny maintains its shroud of mystery
despite beginning at the end.
The Turn of the Key - Ruth Ware
"When she stumbles across the ad, she’s looking for
something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a
live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan
Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart”
home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish
Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.
What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a
nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting
trial for murder."
Another fantastic example of a 'nanny gone wrong' story, The
Turn of the Key will have you torn between wanting to know more and being
afraid of what lies on the next page. The remote Scottish setting is interwined
with the plot to create an atmosphere dark enough to fill even the bravest
reader with a sense of dread. Read my full review for this book here.
The Wife Upstairs - Rachel Hawkins
"Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane
is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of
McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one
will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side
tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is
her real name.
But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester.
Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His
wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies
lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie––not only is
he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection
she’s always yearned for.
Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is
increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a
rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern
lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win
Eddie’s heart before her past––or his––catches up to her?"
This new release from the author of the much loved Hex Hall
and Rebel Belle series is not to be missed if you enjoy domestic thrillers.
In The Garden of Spite - Camilla Bruce
"They whisper about her in Chicago. Men come to her
with their hopes, their dreams--their fortunes. But no one sees them leave. No
one sees them at all after they come to call on the Widow of La Porte. The good
people of Indiana may have their suspicions, but if those fools knew what she'd
given up, what was taken from her, how she'd suffered, surely they'd
understand. Belle Gunness learned a long time ago that a woman has to make her
own way in this world. That's all it is. A bloody means to an end. A glorious
enterprise meant to raise her from the bleak, colorless drudgery of her childhood
to the life she deserves. After all, vermin always survive."
Released last January, this thriller sounds a little
more unconventional than most - a good one for your list if you like to keep
things interesting!
The Echo Wife - Sarah Gailey
"Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from
Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and
obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be. And she’s having an
affair with Evelyn’s husband.
Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and the Caldwell wives
have a mess to clean up. Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her
hands dirty."
This one also sounds very unique compared to other books in
this genre and I'm intrigued - a sci-fi thriller? I've seen it likened to
Westworld, Killing Eve, and Big Little Lies, which, if true - is going to be
amazing.
The Guest List - Lucy Foley
"The bride ‧ The plus one ‧ The
best man ‧ The wedding planner ‧ The bridesmaid ‧
The body
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to
celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome
and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a
magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the
designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique
whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but
every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human.
As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty
jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The
groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid
not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an
uncomfortably caring toast.
And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy
couple well? And perhaps more important, why?"
This bestselling classic set on a remote island is an
absolute must-read for thriller lovers. I absolutely LOVED this one.
The Hunting Party - Lucy Foley
"For fans of Ruth Ware and Tana French, a shivery,
atmospheric, page-turning novel of psychological suspense in the tradition of
Agatha Christie, in which a group of old college friends are snowed in at a
hunting lodge . . . and murder and mayhem ensue.
All of them are friends. One of them is a killer.
During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of
thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a
tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve
chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect
place to get away and unwind by themselves.
They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic
blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world.
Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.
The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if
foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences
about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown
too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous
revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps.
Now one of them is dead . . . and another of them did it.
Keep your friends close, the old adage goes. But just how
close is too close?"
Lucy Foley has well and truly established herself as a
modern day Agatha Christie. I loved this one - I think The Guest List ranks higher in my opinion, but they are both great modern thrillers.
Pretty Little Wife - Darby Kane
"Lila Ridgefield lives in an idyllic college town, but
not everything is what it seems. Lila isn’t what she seems. A student vanished
months ago. Now, Lila’s husband, Aaron, is also missing. At first these cases
are treated as horrible coincidences until it’s discovered the student is
really the third of three unexplained disappearances over the last few years.
The police are desperate to find the connection, if there even is one. Little
do they know they might be stumbling over only part of the truth….
With the small town in an uproar, everyone is worried about
the whereabouts of their beloved high school teacher. Everyone except Lila, his
wife. She’s definitely confused about her missing husband but only because she
was the last person to see his body, and now it’s gone."
A recent release from a debut author.
The Wrong Family - Tarryn Fisher
"Juno was wrong about Winnie Crouch.
Before moving in with the Crouch family, Juno thought Winnie
and her husband, Nigel, had the perfect marriage, the perfect son—the perfect
life. Only now that she’s living in their beautiful house, she sees the cracks
in the crumbling facade are too deep to ignore.
Still, she isn’t one to judge. After her grim diagnosis, the
retired therapist simply wants a place to live out the rest of her days in
peace. But that peace is shattered the day Juno overhears a chilling
conversation between Winnie and Nigel…
She shouldn’t get involved.
She really shouldn’t.
But this could be her chance to make a few things right.
Because if you thought Juno didn’t have a secret of her own,
then you were wrong about her, too."
Last year, I read The Wives by Tarryn Fisher, and I really
enjoyed it - so I am looking forward to reading this creepy book during the
autumn.
Every Last Secret - A.R. Torre
"Cat Winthorpe has worked hard to get what she has: a
gorgeous home; social standing; and William, her successful, handsome husband.
Then a friendly new couple moves into the estate next door. While cautious, a
good neighbor like Cat greets them with open arms and warm hospitality.
Neena Ryder isn’t a fellow lady of leisure. A life coach
with off-the-rack dresses, personal issues, and a husband who hasn’t delivered,
she’s anxious to move up in the world. This beautiful new town is a step in the
right direction. It’s also making Neena aware of what she doesn’t have. Namely,
William. When Neena’s infatuation escalates into obsession, it’s just a matter
of eliminating a few obstacles to get the life she wants. The life next door.
As Neena’s secret fixation grows, so does her friendship
with Cat. But beneath their cordial interactions is a wealth of temptations,
secrets, and toxic jealousy. For both women, the desire for a perfect life can
turn perfectly dangerous."
This book was published in December 2020 and sounds
perfect for fans of 'what goes on behind closed doors' mysteries.
Snap - Belinda Bauer
"On a stifling summer's day, eleven-year-old Jack and
his two sisters sit in their broken-down car, waiting for their mother to come
back and rescue them. Jack's in charge, she said. I won't be long. But she
doesn't come back. She never comes back. And life as the children know it is
changed for ever. Three years later, mum-to-be Catherine wakes to find a knife
beside her bed, and a note that says: I could have killed you. Meanwhile Jack
is still in charge - of his sisters, of supporting them all, of making sure
nobody knows they're alone in the house, and - quite suddenly - of finding out
the truth about what happened to his mother."
Snap made it onto the Manbooker Longlist in 2018, rare for a
crime novel. A dual narrative thriller loosely based on the unsolved murder of
Marie Wilks in 1988, this book will put you through multiple twists and turns
before the big reveal.
The Woman in the Window - A.J. Flynn
"Anna Fox lives
alone—a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends
her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier
times . . . and spying on her neighbors. Then the Russells move into the house
across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But
when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her
world begins to crumble—and its shocking secrets are laid bare."
Looking for a fast-paced thriller with an unreliable
narrator and a plot twist you won't see coming? Look no further than The Woman
in the Window, especially now that there is a Netflix adaptation out too!
The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware
"Lo Blacklock, a
journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment
of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise. At first, Lo's stay is nothing but
pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the
guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray
skies fall, and Lo witnesses a woman
being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for and
so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo's desperate
attempts to convey that something has gone terribly wrong."
A murder mystery set on a yacht? Yes please. Ruth Ware is
another modern day Agatha Christie, using confined settings to make her thrillers
all the more terrifying.
When No One is Watching - Alyssa Cole
"Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her
beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are
sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the
neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her
community’s past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking
tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to
the block—her neighbor Theo.
But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes
a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved
to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more
deadly than advertised.
When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go
when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other—or
themselves—long enough to find out before they too disappear?"
If you're also a fan of historical books, then a thriller
interwoven with history sounds right up your street.
Before I Go To Sleep - S.J. Watson
"Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every
time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people
you love - all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be
telling you half the story."
Made up of a series
of twists and turns throughout the book that'll keep you hooked until the very
last page. Before I Go To Sleep will have you questioning the motives of those
closest to you. The film adaptation is great too!
The Wife Between Us - Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
"When you read this book, you will make many
assumptions.You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife.You will
assume she is obsessed with her replacement – a beautiful, younger woman who is
about to marry the man they both love.You will assume you know the anatomy of
this tangled love triangle.Assume nothing."
Told through dual perspective, this dark and twisty story of
a not-so perfect marriage highlights that there's always two sides to every
story. I only recently read this book for the first time, and it definitely lived up to the hype.
The Couple Next Door - Shari Lapena
"Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all--a loving
relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night
when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed.
Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents. But the truth is a much more
complicated story. Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what
actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is
hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping
secrets, secrets they've kept for years."
If you're a fan of
books based on the premise that appearances can be deceiving, this one's for
you.
Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
"The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is
swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden
proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely
believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate
that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their
lives--presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their
marriage from beyond the grave."
A timeless classic, Rebecca serves to highlight the extent
to which a paranoid mind can create the idea of a reality which doesn't exist.
Du Maurier brings the gothic setting of Manderley to life with her stunning
prose, intertwining the dark house with a host of strange characters that will
set your heart racing.
Stillhouse Lake - Rachel Caine
"An average Midwestern housewife's life is changed
forever when a car accident reveals that her husband is a serial killer.
Retreating to the secluded Stillhouse Lake, she hopes to find peace from the
Internet trolls who think she had something to do with her husband's crimes.
But when a body turns up in the lake, it's clear that a new threat has found
her."
This unusual twist on the story of a serial killer plunges
you straight into the anguished life of Gwen Proctor, exciting from beginning to
end.
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